Merit Points system
The Merit Points system, MP ranking or simply MP is very important in Martian society because it determines the role of a citizen in society and it gives rewards to those who rank higher in the MP ranking. Merit points are achieved or lost depending on the actions of the citizen and, any citizen can reach a higher status within these system regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, background, etc.
It is also important to explain that in Mars there is no private property or currency and the state controls all the economy.
Merit Points Monitoring System
The Merit Points Monitoring System ("Monitorendsisten onsMeridpojnes") or MPMS is the centralized network that ranks the activity of all citizens in order to control their merits, by adding more merit points or substracting them. Merit points start to be collected as soon as the citizen starts school, by achieving good marks they accumulate merits but teachers monitor the kids development and skills to orientate them to a training that it will be useful for the common good of Mars.
For example, if a kid shows that he is not very good with maths and he excels in sports, that kid could be selected to be trained physically in order to become a soldier, where he could accumulate merits with ease. Or if a girl proves at school that she excels in maths, she could be selected by the teachers in order to become an engineer. Teachers are the key to keep the system working.
When the citizen if an adult, he/she can accumulate merits by working hard and having a good performance at work. Any sabotage or criminal offence deducts merit points to a citizen, so the Domestic Command ("Domestikekoman"), the law enforcement agency in Mars, has a very important role for the MPMS.
In order to promote natality, the Martian government considers the addition of both members of a married couple in order to receive awards but the individual ranking does not change because of that. Also if the family has children younger than 18 their merits will be considered in order to receive awards too. When a citizen becomes 18, they leave the family home by law, so usually families lose awards at that moment. Family rankings only contemplate awards in order to give families a more comfortable life.
The citizens are ranked in tiers in order to establish their status in the MP ranking. To achieve a specific tier a citizens does not need to have a specific amount of merit points, because tiers work by percentage.
MP Tiers
The MP system ranks the citizens in 7 tiers, each tier grants specific rights and awards to a citizen. Families living in the same household have a parallel ranking which is independent from the individual ranking of each one of the members of the family.
Sub-zero Tier
Citizens belonging to this tier do not have the right to freedom, they are criminals or waiting for the capital punishment (only for the most serious offences, like murder, raping, kidnapping or drug dealing) or they are in a re-education programme if a judge decided that the citizens can be rehabilitated into the society. They live in prisons, also known as re-education centres. Serious crime offences are punished with the removal of all merits and this affects also to those who belong to any tier. After re-education they'll be promoted to the next tier.
Meritless tier
Citizens that choose not to work. They have freedom and the right to a basic clothing, basic food and a 45 m2 basic housing unit (which includes kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and laundry). They do not have right to get married or to have children, to use public transport, holidays or to have entertainment (TV, cinema, theatre, music concerts, etc). If they have children, the state will take care of them in a state orphanage. They have the right to work whenever they want, at that time they'll be promoted to the next tear but if they commit a crime they'll be relegated to the previous tier.
Basic tier
The citizens with the lower tier with merits. They have the same as the meritless tier but they have the right to get married, to have children, to use the public transport, to have 30 days of holidays per year and to entertainment. Their housing unit is a basic one with 45 m2 but it will be 10 m2 per each family member more, so a three-member family in the basic tier will live in a 65 m2 housing unit. When they lose all the merits they'll be relegated to the previous tier, but if they earn enough merits, they'll be promoted to the next tier.
Middle tier
These citizens have the same rights as the previous tier but as awards, they live in a 100 m2 middle-tier housing unit (15 m2 will be added per each family member) with garage and a private use vehicle, they can visit Terra during their holidays if they wish to and they can use the aerial transport or the high speed train during their holidays. They can have better quality clothes and food. If they lose merits they can be relegated to the previous tier, but if they earn enough merits, they'll be promoted to the next tier. They are the top 65% in the MP ranking.
Upper tier
These citizens have the same rights as the previous tier but as awards, they live in a 200 m2 upper-tier housing unit (always unifamiliar house and, 20 m2 will be added per each family member) with garage, swimming pool and two private use vehicles, they can visit Terra during their holidays if they wish to and they can use the aerial transport or the high speed train during their holidays. They can have import goods, such as clothes and food from outside Mars. They are also allowed to move to a Martian colony in another solar system if they want to. If they lose merits they can be relegated to the previous tier, but if they earn enough merits, they'll be promoted to the next tier. They are the top 20% in the MP ranking.
Elite tier
These citizens are among the best in their respective fields and they have a high responsibility role. They have the same rights as the previous tier but as awards, they live in a 500 m2 mansion with swimming pool and gym and domestic service androids to make their lives more comfortable. They can go wherever they want during their holidays and use any mean of transportation, other than their two private use vehicles and their jet. They have access not only to import foodstuff and clothes but also to luxury goods. If they lose merits they can be relegated to the previous tier, but if they earn enough merits, they'll be promoted to the next tier. They are the top 5% in the MP ranking.
Top tier or High Commissariat members
Only those ranked #1 in their respective field can belong to the High Commissariat which is the representation of power in the Republic of Mars. They have the same awards and rights as the previous tier with the addition that they are able to make, execute and evaluate laws within their respective fields and their families have security staff to protect them at any time. Those who belong to this tier are the Commissaries, the High Commissary (#3 in MP ranking among all Martian citizens), the Vice President (#2 in MP ranking among all Martian citizens) and the President (#1 in MP ranking among all Martian citizens). For example, the #1 construction worker will become the Commissary of the Construction Workers' Guild.
- The Commissaries are relegated to the previous tier when someone within the same field surpasses them in the MP ranking or when the High Commissary is relegated (only if himself/herself belongs to the same Guild).
- The High Commissary is relegated to Commissary of his/her Guild when any Commisary surpasses him/her in the MP ranking, the surpassing Commissary will assume then the role of High Commissary.
- The Vice President is relegated to High Commissary when the High Commisary surpasses him/her in the MP ranking, the surpassing High Commissary will assume then the role of Vice President.
- The President is relegated to Vice President when the Vice President surpasses him/her in the MP ranking, the surpassing Vice President will assume then the role of President.
Peculiarities of this system
- With the application of this system, democracy is not necessary, because the rulers become rules only by merit. Rulers are not elected in Mars.
- No citizen has immunity in this system, any person from any background or tier can lose or obtain merit points.
- Serious criminal offences are punished with death penalty, like murder, rape, kidnapping and sabotage. Corruption is also a serious criminal offence but it is banned with the tier limitation, only those citizens belonging to upper tier and above can commit corruption but if the Domestic Command finds that out, they'll be sent to a re-education centre in the suz-zero tier and they will be banned from the upper tier, so after that criminal offence that cannot reach a higher tier than the middle tier.
- With this system, competitivity is very high and corruption and crime is almost non-existant.